


Paper Love

by IllusionEvenstar



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Dimension Travel, F/M, Mary Sue, Modern Era, Reality Bending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 19:35:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12613888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IllusionEvenstar/pseuds/IllusionEvenstar
Summary: A typical 21st century girl suddenly finds the Elf Prince appear in her room! What was going on?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Old Mary Sue-ish fic I wrote in 2003, typical fangirly things and whatnot, and I never read the books, so this LOTR version is more from the movie universe. Well, a girl can dream, can't they?
> 
> P/S: It's also sorta based on a dream that I had when I wrote this, so yeah, forgive the cheesiness and forgive the grammar

            Toronto ascended the steps to her apartment. She had just come home from her best friend’s house and she was determined to take a nice long nap, and mainly, to admire the poster her best friend gave her for her birthday.

            It was a huge poster of Legolas in his warrior clothes from the grand movie ‘Lord of the Rings’. She fell in love with Legolas since she watched Part One of the Trilogy, and she was crazy about him ever since. Every time a topic about the movie was mentioned, she would not hesitate to discuss about Legolas or to find out more about him.

            As soon as she stepped into her cozy home (which she lived alone ever since her parents went to work overseas), she heard a loud thud, like someone falling from a high spot. She was startled. Could it be that someone has broken into her house? A thief? A perverted molester? She feared the worst. Armed with a 500-paged thick textbook, she crept slowly towards her room, where the sound came from.

            Once she reached her room and peeked in, she was in for a big shock. There, shimmering in white light, slowly dimming, was a man wearing warrior clothes of the medieval times. His clothes were made out of somewhat half-leather-half-cloth, with boots made out of rare, unknown material. When he stood up, he was a head taller than Toronto. He has absolutely magnificent golden-blonde hair and striking green eyes, like the colour of polished emeralds. His face was flawless and fair, smooth as a baby’s skin, and the tip of his ears were pointed.

            “Le…Legolas…?” Toronto stammered, dropping the thick book she was using as a weapon. The man stared at her and spoke to her in a foreign tongue. Toronto recognized that language. It was the Ancient Speech—the Elvish language. She had to struggle to reply him.

            “Uh…In English, please? As in…the Human Tongue?”

            The blonde man gave her a scrutinizing look and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, he asked, “Can you understand me now?”

            “Uh, yeah, perfectly. Who…are you?” Toronto asked back, not sure if she was right.

            “I am Legolas Greenleaf, Elf Prince of Mirkwood,” the blonde replied proudly, full of royalty air.

            “Le…Legolas Greenleaf? Are you serious? You’re _the_ Elf Prince Legolas Greenleaf from Mirkwood?!” Toronto was overwhelmed by his presence.

           “Where…Where am I?” The blonde asked, looking around.

            “Uh…you are at my house in my room. What are you doing here, anyway?” Toronto asked, blushing red.

            “I…I don’t know…I was fighting with Aragorn and Gimli at Helms Deep,” he replied, massaging his temples, “Then…Then all of a sudden I was engulfed by a bright light…I was absorbed into the light…and I got here…”

            The man seemed so confused and muddled up. Toronto wanted to go near him and comfort him but before she could do anything, he glared at her with angry but fantastic-looking eyes and brandished his sword to her neck.

            “What the…?” Toronto was shocked beyond words.

            “Are you one of Saruman’s henchmen?” The blonde demanded, sticking the pointed end dangerously at her throat.

            “Ex…Excuse me? I don’t know what are you talking about!”

            “Are you in the league with the Dark Lord Sauron?” He glared at her even more viciously, like he was going to make his dinner course.

            “I can assure you, I am neither of those things you’ve just said. Your Saruman and Sauron does not exist here. Now put down that sword so that I can explain myself,” Toronto tried to negotiate with the blonde before he slit her throat.

            “I like it better this way,” He smirked as he pressed the pointed end closer.

           “GET THAT SWORD OUT OF MY THROAT BEFORE I REPORT YOU FOR HOMICIDE!!!” Toronto yelled, portraying her 250dsb voice. She always yelled when she was frustrated or stressed out. The blonde winced and put away his sword, still keeping a watchful eye over her.

            “Alright, mortal, explain.”

            Toronto coordinated herself before replying, “Look, I have no idea how you got here in the first place. I’m just a normal girl with no magic or any other gizmoes I can spare. I’m also as surprised as you are. But as far as I’m concerned, you came out from that poster.”

            The man who claimed himself as Legolas glanced at the poster which was now only a blank piece of paper. He frowned and said, “I do not come from that parchment.”

            “Suit yourself. The fact is you’re here, and that’s that.”

            Legolas was silent for a while before asking, “What is this place anyway? Why are you living in a weird castle?”

            “This is not a castle, this is an apartment. My apartment. My home. My domain.”

            “What…world have I landed into…?” He looked out the window, settling his eyes on more concrete buildings outside.

            “You have entered the 21st century. This is the future, where everything hear is as easy as pushing a button. Middle Earth might turn out like this in a few thousand years’ time. That is, if you elves live long enough to stand this type of civilization.”

            “What do you mean? Don’t elves exist here?” He looked at me in surprise.

            “Unfortunately, no. Hate to burst your bubble, Legolas, but in this world, I don’t think guys like you exist. No Hobbits, no dwarves, no elves, nothing. Only humans exist.”

            “Not even Orcs and Uruk-hai?”

            Toronto shook her head.

            Legolas looked lost for a moment there. He sat on Toronto's bed, his eyes going blank. Toronto was able to understand how he felt. He was shipped into a completely different world for no apparent reason and found out that in this world, his kind was only a figment of humans’ imagination. If she were to experience the same thing, she would definitely react just like him. She blushed as she continued staring at the perfectly shaped elf. He was so perfect, so flawless and so young that it was hard for to believe that he was already a few thousand years old. His eyes looked magnificent even though it was blank. She was mesmerized by Legolas’ handsome face.

            Slowly, he got up and moved towards the radio, asking timidly, “What is this contraption?”

            Soon, she found herself introducing everything in her house to him; from her TV to her mechanical pencil. Toronto laughed in her heart as she felt like a mother teaching a child. She couldn’t believe that she was actually in close contact with her dream prince—and an Elf Prince at that. After much explanation and a short tour around her home, Legolas finally settled down. He looked much more relaxed as he sat back on Toronto’s bed.

            “Now you be a good elf and stay there,” Toronto ordered. “I’ll fix myself for a sec, OK?”

            Legolas nodded. Toronto giggled silently, beginning to enjoy the idea of manipulating him who didn’t know a thing about her world. She trotted quickly to the master bedroom (via her parents’ room) and flung herself onto the bed, tossing and turning in full blissfulness. She has never felt so elated before in her life.

            “The guys will definitely flip over him!” She said out loud.

            “What is it, mortal? Did you summon me?” Legolas called from her room. Obviously, the legend about elves having very sharp ears were true.

            “Nothing, Legolas. Just stay there!” She called back and giggled again. She felt so happy that she didn’t want to care about the rest of the world anymore. She was glad that she didn’t whack him with her textbook in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2

            The doorbell rang. Legolas, who was fascinating himself watching TV, turned in astonishment. Toronto rushed out almost immediately and sadi, “I’ll get it. Stay there.”

            Legolas looked curiously at Toronto who was speaking to a man while taking a bulky-looking plastic bag from him. As she closed the door, Legolas was eager to ask, “Who is that man?”

            “Responsible for sending me my dinner every night,” Toronto replied as she started moving the table and chair in front of the TV before placing the plastic bag onto the table. She removed the plastic bag to reveal a Tupperware. She opened it and took a whiff out of it.

            “Ahh…chicken rice! My favourite!”

            “Chicken rice? What in the name of Glaldriel is this made of?” Legolas eyed at the meal curiously. Toronto ignored him. She was too hungry to even bother about his silly questions. She just wanted to gorge herself silly.

            “Don’t I get anything to eat?” Legolas asked again. Toronto groaned, exasperated.

            “Go get something from the fridge!”

            “Fridge? I don’t know what a fridge is.”

            “I’ve explained it to you, haven’t I? It’s…Oh, never mind. I’ll get something for you!”

            Toronto stomped towards the kitchen. She wasn’t sure what to serve the Elf Prince for her fridge was almost bare, since she gets her meals delivered everyday. The amount of info she got about elves were not enough to inform her what do elves eat. She’ll have to make do with some apples, oranges and a couple of tomatoes. _And_ a bar of chocolate to go with.

            “Here,” Toronto appeared with the food. She dropped them onto Legolas’ lap and went back to her dinner. “Enjoy.”

            Legolas wasn’t too keen in those apples and oranges, due to the fact that the apples were too shriveled up (an obvious sign of being in the fridge for too long and that Toronto was a seriously terrible housekeeper) and the oranges looked like it had seen better days, and he definitely didn’t like the tomatoes that were going all soggy (another sign of long-term fridge exposure and bad housekeeping). But when he tried the chocolate bar, he practically chomped down the whole lot. Never before had he tasted such wondrous thing in his life, not even in Middle Earth. Whether that was the reason or he was just plain hungry after being deprived of his natural food.

            “This is…This is like…food from the gods!” Legolas said with his mouth full. “What…What is this made of?”

            “It’ll take a lifetime for me to tell you that,” Toronto replied. “Glad you like it though. I have some more. You want some?”

            Legolas nodded eagerly. Toronto went back to the kitchen to get 2 more chocolate bars and a glass of ice-cold water. He wolfed down the lot, practically enjoying himself. Toronto reminded him to wash down the thickness of the chocolate with the water. Legolas obeyed.

            “I’ve never eaten such heavenly food before in my life! It’s even better than lembas bread!”

            “Lembas bread? The bread of the elves?” Toronto was interested, her TV show forgotten. “Do you have it with you?”

            “Yes, I have,” Legolas replied as he rummaged his pouch which was hanging around his waist. He took out a round piece of bread wrapped in long banana-like leaves. He broke a piece of the bread and handed it to Toronto, “Here, mortal. If you please.”

            “Toronto is my name,” Toronto corrected him. She took a bite from that piece of bread and beamed. To her delight, the bread melted in her mouth, leaving a sweet tingly after-taste in her tongue, like cotton candy. The sweetness spread all over her, until it reached the depths of her soul. She felt so blissful after that. In fact, she didn't feel hungry anymore. It was just like what he said in the movie about one bite to be able to feed a grown man.

            Noticing Toronto enjoying the lembas bread so much, Legolas gave her the rest of the bread. When Toronto hesitated, he smiled in the most charming way which melted Toronto’s heart and said, “In exchange for these lovely sweets.”

            “What is it like in Elf Land? I mean in Mirkwood, Rivendell, well, the like,” Toronto asked, putting away the bread for later.

            “It’s nothing much to be proud of, except that it is far more beautiful and enchanting than the boring human world. It’s a land where time stands still and life is eternal…” Legolas replied dreamily, his green eyes indicating that he was deep in his thoughts, wandering further and further away towards Middle Earth.

            “Hello! Earth to Legolas! Wake up!” Toronto snapped her fingers in front of his face until he came back to his senses. “Was it really that you were fighting in Helms Deep with Aragorn, Prince of Arnor, and that dwarf Gimli?”

            Legolas’ facial expression became grave before answering, “Yes. They must be wondering where I am now. I must find a way to return to Middle Earth, back to Helms Deep to join the fight.”

            “You’re serious? I mean, I’m no sorceress or anything—I don’t have powers Gandalf or Saruman has—and I still have no idea how did you get here!”

            “It happened so fast, like a blinding flash of light. Everything was white for a few long moments…I remember Haldir trying to save me…” Legolas was massaging his temples again. Toronto was amazed.

            “Serious? Haldir, one of the High Elves, is also there? What about Eowyn, Eomer and King Theoden? The rest of the elves army?”

            “They are all there. Except Eomer. I do not know his whereabouts. How do you know all these things?”

            Toronto clasped her mouth shut. She got carried away again—she always does when she’s excited about a certain topic. She had accidentally exposed her knowledge about the movie’s Part Two of the Trilogy. She had forgotten that Legolas and the gang were only going to meet Eomer somewhere near the end of the movie. She cursed herself for ever letting herself getting swell-headed over these things.

            “Uh…I…Uh, never mind! It’ll take forever to explain it to you. Let’s talk about something else!”

            “I’ve got forever. Explain,” Legolas smirked as he propped his chin, waiting for her answer. Toronto went daft. She forgot that Legolas was an immortal; he does have forever.

            “I just know these things, OK? I’ve got insights. I even know, while you guys break your backs trying to fight the Orcs and Uruk-hai, what is going on at Frodo and Sam’s side.”

            “You do?” Legolas was amazed, widening his sparkling green eyes like an eager child. “Does this mean you have the power to forsee events? Where is Frodo? Is he alright? Will we win the fight in Helms Deep?”

            “Let’s just say…there are things that are better left unsaid,” Toronto replied. She didn’t want to give away anything. She knew too much, and if Legolas knew about what she knew, she’ll ruin the whole balance of the story.

            That is, if he can ever get back into the poster.

            Toronto noticed Legolas muttering to himself in Elvish. She couldn’t help feeling fascinated by the majestic language. She stared at the way Legolas muttered the words for quite some time before asking, “Can you teach me?”

            “What?” Legolas switched back to the Human Tongue.

            “Can you teach me Elvish?”

            “Why would you want to learn it, mortal?”

            “You taught Aragorn, and he’s a mortal.”

            “Estel is a half-elf, one of us. He’s supposed to know.”

            “Still, he’s half-mortal too. That’s not fair for me now, is it?”

            Legolas stared at Toronto with his emerald-green eyes. Toronto almost blushed. The way he stared was really enchanting, like he was trying to read her mind through her eyes. His flawless features made her even more attracted to him. She looked away. Legolas smirked, sighed and said, “Elen sila lumenn’ omentielvo.”

            “What does that mean?” Toronto asked.

            “It means ‘A star shines on the hour of our meeting’.”

            “Oh,” Toronto blushed again.

            Slowly, Toronto and Legolas could be heard conversing in both Elvish and the Human Tongue.


	3. Chapter 3

            “I refuse to go with you, mortal.”

            Legolas had his hands on his waist, an indignant look written across his face. He had spent the night in Toronto’s room, while Toronto slept in the master bedroom. Now he was fully awake, and full of princely protests.

            “Come on, Legolas! I can’t leave you here alone at home!” Toronto half-begged the Elf Prince. “My babysitter is gonna come here to clean up the place! If she sees you here, she’s gonna ring the police!”

            “Why should I leave _your_ domain and follow _you_ around and listen to _your_ demands? I am Legolas, Prince of Mirkwood, not your servant!”

            “Stop being such an asshole, Legolas! I told you,I cannot leave you home alone!” Toronto growled as she hid at one corner to change into her school uniform. “Sooner or later, you’ll run loose and start shooting your arrows at people for no particular reason!”

            “I’m an elf, and I’m a prince. I do not go around wasting my arrows on useless mortals. Nay, an elf prince always watches before he acts,” Legolas defended himself with an air of majesty in his tone.

            “Yeah, whatever. I’m not going to let you freak my babysitter out. You’re coming with me whether you like it or not. Now get dressed!”

            So saying, she rummaged through her father’s dresser and got him a checkers long-sleeved shirt and a pair of canvas jeans. She flung them to him and rushed about to get her bag. When she was finally all set and ready to go, Legolas was still in his warrior clothes. The clothes she got him were at his feet in a careless heap.

            “Legolas! Hurry up and change! We’re gonna be late for school!” Toronto urged, picking up the clothes and pushing them into Legolas’ arms.

            “I will not wear these ridiculous garments,” Legolas said firmly. Toronto found it hard to believe that the real Legolas and the one she read in the books and watched in the movies were so far apart.

            “Don’t be such a baby! Are you expecting me to help you change?”

            Legolas tilted his head sideways, considering before saying, “I presume you should.”

            Toronto felt as if a boulder just hit her head. She flushed red and yelled, “ARE YOU KIDDING?! You’re old enough to dress up on your own, why should _I_ do the work for _you_?!”

            “It is not a foreign thing for me. The last time a foolish human strayed into the depths of Mirkwood, she became my personal dresser.”

           “You guys actually have human slaves?” Toronto wrinkled her nose in horror.

           “It is an unsightly thing to happen, but yes, we do have a few human servants. We cannot risk them running around in the wild to expose the doorway to our world.”

          “You show yourselves in front of a few thousand people of Rohan.”

          “Yes, but only very, very few people know where our world exactly is. That includes Estel.”

          “Well, still,” Toronto said as she shoved the clothes closer to Legolas’ chest, “I’m not your slave and I’m not going to help you do your stuff. In _my_ house, you do things by _yourself_. No help from me!”

          “But,” Legolas gazed deep into her eyes again and smirked cunningly, “I’m sure you _want_ to help me change now, don’t you?”

          Toronto blushed even redder than before. That Elf Prince actually seeped through her mind! It seems that the book she read about elves having the ability to read minds was true. Slowly, with quivering hands, she undid the buttons of his warrior shirt. She unfastened the clasp of his cloak and let it slide down to the marble floor. She removed the heavy gear off his shoulders and arms. Then, her face redder than the reddest redcurrant, she undid his pants and gear and his boots. She closed her eyes when she took his pants off his feet. Deep down inside her, she wanted to see how a naked elf—especially her dream prince Legolas—looks like, but her conscience got the better of her. With her eyes still closed, she slipped in the checkers shirt on him and wore him the jeans. She sighed with relief after helping him zip up his jeans and buckling it up, glad that it was over.

          When she opened her eyes, she was amazed to see how astounding he looked in casual wear. “Not bad, Legolas. Besides the pointed ears, you really look like any other human being!”

         “I do not wish to be degraded into an incompetent mortal,” Legolas sulked a little, folding his arms.

         “Well, you’ll just have to live with it then,” Toronto grabbed her bag and her lunch box. She took Legolas’ hand (and was surprised that she did so) and led him out of her apartment and into the streets.

         She couldn’t persuade him not to bring his bow and arrows, though.


	4. Chapter 4

            The rest of the day was a riot. She continuously received surprised and amazed gazes from passers-by, especially teenagers, on her way to school. When she reached school, which was known as Titanic Tribute Pre-University Centre, everyone reacted as if a superstar just came in. Well, logically, anyone would when the actor of one of the best selling movies like LOTR show up in real life. Toronto had a hard time coping with them.

            “Oh my gosh, look! It’s Orlando Bloom!”

            “You mean Legolas? What’s he doing here?”

            “He’s with Toronto!”

            “Oh my God! No!”

            “Yes! There he is!”

            “How the hell did he end up with her?”

            “It can’t be~~ My dream prince~~!!”

            One exclamation after another came pouring down on Toronto and Legolas. She felt so embarrassed.

            “Why are these mortals so agitated? Who is this Orlando Bloom?” Legolas asked curiously.

            “He’s…uh…he’s a famous pioneer,” Toronto lied, not wanting him to know the truth, “You look kinda like him, that’s all.”

            Although quite unapproved, it wasn’t hard for Toronto to persuade her tutors to let Legolas sit in class (especially when she had about 50 other students backing her up). It felt really odd to have a tall, blonde elf sitting among 50 over black-haired Asian students. The Accounting tutor went through the class with a disapproving look on her face that just won’t go away. The Economics tutor was scared out of her wits when Legolas tried to aim his arrows at the projector (which embarrassed Toronto extremely). Only the Business Studies tutor was thrilled to have Legolas in class, as she was also a LOTR fan, much to Toronto’s relief. They received even more stares and were clustered around constantly by admired people when they went to the cafeteria to have lunch. Jealous girls glared unkindly at Toronto and crazed Legolas fans chased them down the corridors asking for autographs. Toronto had to constantly run away to avoid LOTR fan maniacs and drag Legolas everywhere, keeping him by her side so as not to lose him. He marveled at everything in sight, like he was a small child out in the big world (in a way, he was), and Toronto had to bear the embarrassment for the whole day.

           Toronto had to lie to everyone that Legolas was her very, very distant cousin who came to visit and he just so happens to have a resemblance of Orlando Bloom, but after school (finally), her story was beginning to wear off.

           “Come on, Toronto, be honest,” One of her friends, Sylvia, urged. “Where did you get your hands on him?”

           “You must’ve sneaked into the movie-shooting site, kidnapped him, bonked him on the head to let him have amnesia and brainwashed him, haven’t you?” Another friend, Carrie, said long-windedly. She can often come up with such weird theories.

          “No, of course not! Even if I told you the truth, you wouldn’t believe it,” Toronto replied, massaging her aching forehead.

          “Try us,” Carrie and Sylvia said together.

          Toronto explained to them about the whole incident. Legolas confirmed her story. Carrie and slyvia stared at Toronto first, then at Legolas, and then back at Toronto again, their eyes blinking in disbelief.

         “So…you’re saying…he’s the original Legolas?” Carrie finally found her voice. Toronto nodded.

         All of a sudden Sylvia, who was a bookworm and have read all the three books of LOTR, started pouring out questions after questions about the book, including some from the 3rd book ‘Return of the King’. Legolas was able to answer exactly what was written in the books (except about Frodo, Sam and Gollum’s journey) and knew nothing about what was going on in the 3rd book. It was obvious that his world was still stuck in the 2nd book, about Helms Deep and all.

         “Yup, he’s genuine alright,” Sylvia commented at last with a contented sigh. “The real Elf Prince of Mirkwood.”

         “Wow! I’m impressed!” Carrie gazed at Legolas in wonder. He averted his eyes away from her, changing his gaze to the long-haired Toronto. He didn’t know why, but he felt more comfortable looking at Toronto than looking at anyone else.

         “Hey, school hour’s out! Let’s go get some grub!” Carrie said cheerfully, “We can introduce our elf friend here to some of our delicious gourmets.”

         “Let’s go to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves!” Sylvia lit up, grinning eagerly.

         “Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves? That place is the bomb! Things are _way_ too expensive there, man!” Toronto exclaimed, checking her wallet to see if she had enough cash.

         “I got coupons.”

         “Right! Let’s go!”

         So, in Sylvia’s car, they drove all the way downtown to Coffee Bean & Tea Leaves Beverage Shop. With Sylvia’s coupons, they’ve ordered quite a number of goodies to eat. Toronto got Legolas two kinds of chocolate cake, which he enjoyed very much.

         “He really loves chocolate now, doesn’t he?” Carrie stared in amazement at the way Legolas almost wolfed down the whole lot.

         “Yup. After having a dose of my Cadbury chocolate bar,” Toronto replied, sipping her hot chocolate. “Where to next after this?”

         “I’ve got archery class later,” Carrie said, finishing her café latte. “You guys wanna tag along and watch?”

         “Archery? This suits me fine,” Legolas was interested, ignoring the amazed stares from the customers and the workers of the shop since just now.

         “Then we can have a contest now, can’t we?”

         “It’ll be my pleasure, mortal.”

         All of a sudden, a pang of jealousy went through Toronto’s heart. She suddenly felt a little possessive over him. Seeing him having the same interest with Carrie made her kind of left out. She squeezed Legolas’ wrist a little and gave him a don’t-be-too-enthusiastic look.

         Legolas stared back at her with his emerald-green eyes and smirked cunningly, giving her that are-you-jealous look. Toronto blushed and looked away.

         Nevertheless, the decision has been made. After feeding themselves, they first went to Carrie’s house to get her bow and arrows (which Legolas marveled at compared to his ivory bow and wooden arrows), then went to the Sports Centre to attend the archery class. As usual, Legolas received a lot of amazed shrieks and exclamations and Toronto had to use the cousin story again. Sylvia, Toronto and Legolas sat aside as they watched the others shooting their arrows towards the bull’s eye targets. Legolas snorted when some of them shot out of range. So far, only Carrie was much better than the rest.

         Then, Carrie walked towards the coach and was discussing—more to begging, really—with him about something. Then she gestured Legolas to come over. Legolas went with a curious thought in his mind. Toronto and Sylvia followed suite.

         “I’ve asked for my coach’s permission to let you give it a try,” Carrie said proudly. “If you please, Legolas.”

         “It’ll be my pleasure, mortal. But why don’t you go first?”

         “Alright,” Carrie went forward and stood well. She adjusted and aimed her arrow at the target, closed one of her eyes and let go. It didn’t hit the bull’s eye though.

         It was Legolas’ turn. He didn’t need to stand well. He didn’t need to aim at the target. And he definitely didn’t need to close an eye. He just went forward, took out his arrow and put it casually on the bow, raised it, pull the string and let go. It hit right on the bull’s eye. He repeated the same motion at ease, as if it’s as easy as drinking water. All his arrows hit directly onto the bull’s eye. Everyone in the archery field gaped for a few seconds before clapping their hands, cheering like mad.

        “You really are an elf, man!” Carrie exclaimed, obviously very impressed.

        “You’re not bad yourself, mortal,” Legolas replied modestly.

        Toronto almost swooned in admiration, realizing that she was actually in love with the Elf Prince and her love for him has just increased a great deal.


	5. Chapter 5

            Legolas was at the balcony, staring out into the dark, starry sky. The moon was full and bright, lighting up the night sky. He was really deep in his thoughts that he did not realize Toronto coming out to the balcony.

            “Legolas, what are you thinking?”

            “Oh! I’m sorry, I did not hear you, mortal,” Legolas snapped back into reality. “What are you doing out here?”

            “Enjoying the view with you,” Toronto had gotten used to Legolas calling her ‘mortal’. In fact, she even got used to Legolas’ princely superiority and arrogance. After 5 months being with each other under the same roof, and suddenly her being madly in love with him, who wouldn’t?

            That was when Toronto finally realized that they have been together for about 5 months. They have been through a lot of things together, both happy, outrageous and sad ones. He still went to school with her as usual, and being chased by crazed LOTR fans everyday. He officially entered Carrie’s archery club for his own personal pleasure and training, and sometimes helped out to coach the other members (which almost got him into trouble because of the original jealous and angry coach). Toronto and her friends tried to fascinate the Elf Prince anyway they could. They took him to the movies, shopping, arcades and funfairs. They went just about anywhere Legolas was curious to go (and get mobbed by Legolas fanatics in the process).

            There was once Toronto took him to the pub and introduced him to beer. Legolas surprised her by drinking 3 jugs of beer without getting drunk. The other customers (and Legolas fanatics) were interested and tried to intoxicate him with ll sorts of liquor: from Shandy to Brandy to Martini to vodka and even to XO! Still Legolas stood tall and sane without a flush on his face. He even popped out a question that shocked everyone, “Don’t you mortals have anything stronger?”

            His ability to take huge amounts of alcohol really surprised Toronto. Luckily all the liquor was bought by the other customers, so she only had to pay for the former 3 jugs (the bartender gave her a discount for putting up a great performance). Legolas was still in a mood for some chocolate, so she got him a piece of Black Forest cake from a 7-Eleven store.

            “You really can take so much liquor at once!” Toronto exclaimed in admiration. “Do you elves have a special stomach or something?”

            “No, we do not. The drinks are just not strong enough, that’s all,” Legolas replied, munching away enjoyably on the Black Forest cake.

            “How strong is liquor of your kind?”

            “We will get drunk if we drink the wine of our kind, but for you mortals, one cup is enough to take you to Dream World.”

            “One…One cup?”

            “Precisely.”

            Toronto smiled at that flashback. When she turned to Legolas, Legolas was back again into his thoughts, his face grave and solemn.

            “You’re thinking about Aragorn and Gimli, right?”

            Legolas nodded. “I fear that all will be lost in Helms Deep. There are thousands upon thousands of those wretched Orcs and Uruk-hai and only a few hundred people of Rohan. If I do not return, nelek tala taher (they will all die). Most of them have seen too many winters…”

            “Or too few, I know,” Toronto finished his sentence, receiving a surprised look from Legolas. “I know these things, remember?”

            “Then can you tell me whether we have succeeded in apprehending the followers of Sauron?”

            Toronto shook her head. “I’m sorry, but there are things that are not meant to be known. You have to find it out for yourself. Elrond had the power to predict but I don’t see you elves clustering him asking questions about the future.”

            “True. It’s just that…I just want to know. I really am worried about my friends. I fear most about my kin. I worry that there will not be many of us left to sustain Rivendell, let alone Mirkwood.”

            “It’s not _that_ bad, is it?” Toronto tried to ease his mind but was shot back by a solemn gleam in his eyes. “Oh. That bad, huh?”

            Legolas looked back up into the night sky and slowly muttered under his breath a sort of spell. Toronto pricked her ears and realized that it was the inscription on the ring. Legolas continued muttering, increasing his voice a little, “Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul…”

            “‘One Ring to rule them, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them’. That’s what it means, right?” Toronto asked, not sure if that was the exact thing she remembered from the book.

            Legolas turned to her and said in a suppressed voice of amazement, “You are such a mysterious character, mortal. You know much about my world, you know my world is now in threatening danger of falling into the hands of Sauron, yet you act as if everything is going to turn alright in the end. You always make my world sound as if it will break out from the ashes of defeat, and you withhold this information from me, as if you trust me less than you trust my world more.”

            “I don’t like to keep people in the dark as much as you think I do, but what am I supposed to do? I cannot interfere with the balance of your destiny!” Toronto replied. “What if I told you everything I know about what’s gonna happen in Helms Deep? What if I told you about Frodo’s adventures and what he and Sam are doing right now? What would happen to the rest of the story? I cannot reveal anything that might harm you!”

            “What do you mean, mortal? What dangers will occur if I so happen to know about the future?” Legolas gazed at her with his mesmerizing green eyes. Toronto looked away, not wanting to see his eyes and fall over him.

            “There is a saying in my world that we cannot tamper with destiny. It is for us to discover and to experience, whether it is good…or bad. We cannot avoid it. If we do, we’ll have to suffer the exact destiny twice as much. I…I don’t want to tell you anything because…I don’t want you to end up being killed. If I told you anything, and you avoided the danger once, it’ll come back to you again at twice the impact…”

            “Do not be distressed, mortal. Nothing will come over me. I am Legolas the Elf Prince…”

            “I don’t want you to die! You may be an immortal, but I know that in a way, you will die! I don’t want you to die like Haldir did when the Orc killed him…”

            “Hal…Haldir? He has perished?”

            Toronto clasped her mouth shut. She had done the unspeakable. She told Legolas something he would mostly will not want to know. She felt as if she had done the worst crime ever. She looked away, not wanting to let Legolas see her eyes well up in tears. Legolas took her arms gently and turned her around to face him. She looked down, feeling terribly guilty and lost.

            “Please, mortal. You must tell me what happened at Helms Deep. I’ve been here for many moons now. The fight might be over, or maybe not. I need to know so that I can help my friends in the future. Tell me. You can spare Frodo’s story, but I need to know about Helms Deep.”

            Toronto shook her head, her tears falling from her eyes.

            “Toronto, please.”

            Toronto widened her eyes. This was the first time she ever heard Legolas calling her by her name. Her heart melted immediately as she fell onto her knees, burying her face into Legolas’ chest. The Elf Prince wound his arms hesitantly around her and let her sob her heart out before letting her start her story. Toronto revealed the story of Helms Deep. She told him about their fight with the Orcs and Uruk-hai. She told him about how the underdogs of Saruman burst the drain under the Helms Deep fortress and how Haldir died. She told him how Aragorn led King Theoden and his men together with the Fellowship team into one final battle with the Orcs and Uruk-hai before Gandalf the White emerged with the ex-army of Rohan led by Eomer. She stopped abruptly when she revealed Gollum accompanying Frodo and Sam to the land of Mordor. Legolas did not press on. He was as good as his word.

            “So that’s how it goes,” Legolas said finally. “We have won the battle. Thank the High Elves. Now I can rest assure that the Fellowship will be in good hands. The only thing I have to worry now is how to get back to Middle Earth so that I can join the fight to destroy the Dark Lord Sauron himself.”

            “You’re still gonna go, huh?” Toronto said, looking away.

            “I should. I am part of the Fellowship. I must finish the battle between us and Sauron.”

            Toronto went and stood at another corner of the balcony. Of course he had to go. How could she fool herself in thinking that the Elf Prince is gonna stay with her forever. He will still think of going back and he will still think of a way on how to return to Middle Earth, no matter how much she wanted him to stay, no matter how interesting she made her world sound to him, no matter how much she loved him at heart. He will still think of leaving her.

            Out of the blue, she felt Legolas’ strong arms around her. She blushed hard when she heard him say, “If you do not want me to leave, you can just say so.”

            “What?” Toronto was surprised.

            “Well, to be honest with you, my fair mortal, I have gotten quite accustomed to life in this future. I may not like the idea that our kind does not exist in this world anymore, but being with you truly makes me quite secured.”

            “But you still cannot give up Middle Earth. I know you, Legolas. I hate to admit it but…you don’t belong here,” Toronto said sadly, her eyes still wet with tears.

            “Yes, I understand that. You are quite right,” Legolas turned her around again to face him. “That is why I have decided that if I ever find a way to get back to Middle Earth, I’ll take you with me. I hope you do not mind.”

            “Me? Go with you to Middle Earth?” Toronto did not expect him to suggest this. If he really appeared from the poster, that means she’ll have to go with him through the poster. What will the poster turn out later?

            “You do not have to rush your decision. I have all the time to find a way to return to Middle Earth. Take your time and think it over,” Legolas smiled his usual charming smile, sending Toronto into pools of ecstasy. Without warning, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek before retiring into his room.

            Toronto wished she could just die of happiness there and then.

                                                                        *

            Toronto crept into the room where Legolas slept. She went near the sleeping Elf Prince and sat there, admiring the way he looked with his eyes closed. Even when he slept, he looked so handsome and suave. The moonlight caught his golden-blonde hair and she could almost swear that it shone a little, like magic. She stared longingly and dreamily before Legolas slowly opened his sparkling green eyes.           

            “Toronto…?”

            “I have decided. I shall go with you to Middle Earth,” Toronto said quietly. Legolas sat up.

            “Are you sure? Do you not care about your life here, or your friends, or your parents?”

            “I care. I do care a lot and I still care. But this is my life and it’s about time I decide things for myself. I’m not a little girl anymore. I choose to go with you.”

            “You know that there is no turning back now, don’t you?” Legolas wanted her to confirm her decision. Toronto nodded. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tight. Toronto hugged him back. Slowly he took her chin and kissed her lips. It was lightly at first, then they kissed deeper and more passionately, tasting each others’ mouths like it was the greatest sweet ever. When they parted, Legolas stroked her long dark hair.

            “Im mela lin (I love you)…” Legolas whispered in her ear.

            “I love you too…” Toronto whispered back as she laid her head on his broad chest.

            Before she knew it, Legolas has removed the thin strap of her nightgown, exposing her bare shoulder. He leaned over to kiss her shoulder, licking it like she was a melting ice-cream. He slowly advanced to her neck and removed the rest of her nightgown. Toronto was lost into the sea of passion. She forgot everything else in the world as she felt her body being tantalized by Legolas’ soft touch. Everything else was a blur except her Elf Prince. She could feel his bare broad chest and his toned muscles. She took his face and kissed him deeply. She felt the slight pain and moaned when Legolas went into her, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was her to be one with her beloved Elf Prince…

* * *

 

            “I will find a way to Middle Earth, my sweet mortal. Then we can be together for eternity in my home of Mirkwood.”

            That was the last thing Toronto heard from Legolas before she drifted down into a deep sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

            “You look beautiful today, Toronto.”

            Toronto blushed at that comment. She was wearing her school uniform as usual, but this time she did not attempt to hide out of sight like she used to. She was halfway buttoning her blouse when Legolas came from behind, slipped his hands into her bra and squeezed her breasts. Toronto gasped and, at the same time, let out a moan.

            “No, Legolas, don’t. We’re gonna be late for school,” she blushed harder when his touch over her became rather more intimate.  

            “Your school starts at an hour later,” Legolas whispered to her ear, enticing her. He was right; he has been remembering the time routine of her classes. He kissed her bare neck and licked her earlobe.

            When her blouse fell off her body and onto the marble floor, Toronto made no attempt to pick it up.

* * *

            Toronto and Legolas walked to her school as usual. Although they have been doing this for the past 5 months, they still received amazed stares from passers-by. They have already gotten used to stares by then, especially Legolas. 5 months seemed like a day to them now. Their relationship has developed to a stage where mortals and immortals used to think that it would never happen. It may seem quite fast, but as they say, love is blind.

            After walking for quite a while, they have reached Toronto’s school. All they have to do now is cross the road to enter the school. Toronto looked at Legolas and asked, “Ready to cross the road, Legolas?”

            “I did not follow you to your educational building for 5 moons without collecting the courage to cross this busy lane,” the usual princely, arrogant Legolas returned. Toronto smiled and shook her head weakly. Old habits sure die hard.

            She took his hand, looked left and right, and made a dash for it as soon as the traffic was quite clear. In her mind, all she could think of was spending another school day being chased by LOTR fanatics, receiving unpleasant looks from her Accounting and Economics teacher as well as the LOTR-crazed girls in her school, going out somewhere with her friends Sylvia and Carrie to fascinate her Elf Prince and spending the rest of the evening with him, sharing sweet moments together. She didn’t see a speeding lorry coming towards them, driven by a drunk driver. She didn’t feel the aura of the lorry coming closer and closer to them. She could only feel Legolas’ hand in hers…

            All of a sudden, she couldn’t feel his hand anymore. Her hand felt so empty, so lost. She turned around to see where has her Elf Prince gone to, only to find shards of poster paper fluttering around the air and falling slowly onto the road. A lot of cars stopped and the drivers came out to see what was going on. The poster paper were all torn to shreds and when Toronto took one floating paper shred to see, she saw Legolas’ magnificent green eye staring back at her. She fell onto her knees, her eyes blank in disbelief. Many people came to her and asked her what was the matter but she was too lost to speak. In fact, their voices slowly became more and more blur until she could only hear the pressuring silence around her.

            As she shifted her gaze to the ground, she saw the emerald gold-rimmed Fellowship clasp. With quivering hands, she picked up the clasp and stroked it. It felt so real, as real as Legolas’ hand in hers. Tears flowed out of her eyes as the memories between her and Legolas swam through her mind. She couldn’t believe it had to end this way. She couldn’t believe that he had disappeared so suddenly, as sudden as the day he appeared in her room on that fateful day 5 months ago. Everything was so real, so real to the touch. She could still feel his hand in hers, his kiss on her lips, his touch on her body, his soul as they both became one.

            Toronto finally broke down and wailed.

                                                                        *

            The phone rang. Toronto made no attempt to pick it up. She lay on her bed with the clasp held tight in her hand. She fingered the clasp and started crying again.

            After the accident, she found herself lying on the hospital bed. The doctors said that she was wailing uncontrollably in the middle of the road and the people nearby had to call the ambulance to sedate her and take her away. They asked what had happened just now because she was crying like she was in pain, yet they found no bones unattached. The driver of the lorry apologized to her and told them that he thought he knocked down a man with long blonde hair and said maybe that was her boyfriend or some sort. The doctors dismissed his statement as they said that when they got to the scene, they saw no one that resembled the driver’s description.

            “But I told you, it was a blonde man! When I hit him, there was this blinding flash and the next thing I know, my windscreen was covered with torn paper!” the driver insisted.

            “Your alcohol level seemed very high when we checked you. You should be pressed charges. You almost hit a girl,” one of the doctors said indignantly. “We found no blonde man on the road, and no one saw a man being hit, only this young lady. I am going to report you for drunk-driving. Now go outside before you intimidate the girl again!”

            Toronto took it all in without a single word. The doctors tried to question her again as softly as possible about what happened just now at the accident scene, but all she replied was a few Elvish words that the doctors couldn’t understand (obviously!), “Mornie u tu lie, mornie alan tie (Darkness has risen, darkness has fallen).” And later that night, she took off her hospital robes and slipped back into her school clothes before blending in with the visitor and leaving the hospital. When she reached home, she saw that her poster was still blank, but it was also, like in the accident scene, torn into pieces.    

            Since then, she stopped going to school. The last time she went to school, no one remembered a thing about Legolas or him coming to school. No one asked her about Legolas’ whereabouts. Even Carrie and Sylvia had forgotten about the Elf Prince. When she tried to remind them, they looked at her as if she had gone sick in the head or something. It was as if none of Legolas’ appearance in school had ever happened and that only Toronto remembered anything.

            She knew he was real. She knew it wasn’t a dream. She was sure that Legolas really came to her room and entered her life. She could still feel his touch on him. She could still feel the love and the passion when they spent the night together drowning into the sea of love-making. She couldn’t believe that he could actually disappear from her life as well as from everyone else’s memories. She felt that the world she was living now wasn’t real at all. She refused to have anymore human contact. She has cut herself from the rest of the world. She seemed as if she had lost any language communication with people. When she came across her friends when she went out to do a little grocery, and they asked her about her condition, she found herself conversing with them in brief Elvish talk. Eventually, she stopped going out and stopped talking to anyone at all.

            The phone rang again. She got up from her bed and pulled the plug. Now she’ll never have to hear anything else again except her own heart beating for Legolas to hear, if he’s listening. She was hoping he would, and she never stopped hoping. She continued stroking the clasp and talking to it in Elvish. More tears fell out of her dark-brown eyes as she went on with her Elvish talk. She cried often ever since she built a wall between her and the rest of the world. She even started to grow more plants inside and outside her apartment to make her home more like a forest. She tended to them like they were her prized treasures, hoping that she would make it more like Legolas’ home if he ever comes back.

                                                                        *

            It was a full moon’s night tonight. Toronto still lay on her bed wallowing in self-pity. She didn’t turn on the lights, not even when she knew that the sun was going down. She remained stationary on her bed, still fingering the leaf-shaped clasp tenderly. She didn’t want to have anything to do with the world anymore. In fact, she had a sudden decision to end her life there and then. She knew that, in her heart, Legolas was never going to return. Her poster was completely torn and if that really was the gateway from Middle Earth, he won’t be able to find it anymore.

            Toronto was ready with the towel. She tied it up onto her fan and was about to put her head through the loop of the towel when she suddenly saw the Fellowship clasp clasped on her shirt shining brightly. She got off the chair she was standing on and took off the clasp. Something extraordinary happened. Lovely bright balls of light circled around her. She could’ve sworn those light looked like butterflies engulfed in bright yellow light. They continued circling around her until she felt a little change in her. With only the bright ‘butterflies’ as her only source of light, she went to her mirror and saw the extraordinary change. Even she herself was surprised.

            There, at the mirror, was a girl in her 20’s—about 24 or 25, give or take—with long flowing silver-blonde hair. Her eyes were a sparkling colour of aquamarine and her skin was so fair, she found it hard to believe that she used to be under the sun for the past 18 years. She was much taller and slimmer, and her breasts much fuller and her skin much smoother. She realized that her blemishes were all gone and she could see so much clearer. It seemed that her eyesight had improved even more. Furthermore, her ears had become quite pointed.

            Her room suddenly became bright. The wall where her poster used to be was shining really bright, as if revealing a doorway. Inside that bright light, she could hear Legolas’ voice calling her, “Althea…”

            She knew that he was calling her by her new name. She knew that she had become someone that only exists in other people’s imaginations. Eventually, everyone will forget about her existence in this world, including her friends, probably including her parents, just like how they’ve easily forgotten Legolas. She clutched the clasp and held it tight in her palm. She was ready.

            Slowly, she stepped into the light…


End file.
